Strategic Passing: Why India Will Not Be Pakistan 2.0 in U.S. Asia Policy

South Asia Channel

Despite turning page for a new chapter in U.S.-India ties, New Delhi will not replace Islamabad as Washington's willing and subservient ally in an increasingly complex world. Here's why.

Key observers in New Delhi and Washington agree that President Obama's visit to India in January has monumental significance for the future direction of U.S.-Indian relations. While it is being hailed as a 'new chapter' in U.S.-Indian relations, the current dynamic between the two countries is not without its critics. Predictably, the left-leaning parties in India spewed vitriolics about Obama's visit, thanks to their consistent opposition to American policies. Some within the opposition Congress Party have called this a 'desperate move' to distract attention from the assembly polls. Others have made fateful claims that India will become another Pakistan especially with the current U.S.-Russian tensions and the fears of another possible Cold War. The argument goes that with U.S.-Pakistan relations becoming increasingly difficult, with seemingly unfinished business still left in a troubled Afghanistan, and a militarily resurging China, India will take Pakistan's role as a willing ally of Washington—warts and all—in an increasingly complex world. In the process, it might become as disrupted as its neighbor. While this viewpoint is immersed in heavy nostalgia of the nonalignment era, it is both pessimistic and faulty....

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